Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-01-19
Communicated
THE GLASS BLnWER's STRIKE.
The other side 81 the Question.


Mr.. EDTToR ~ want to say q few
words in reply 10 your article or the
glass blowers strike which appeared
in your issue Of January 18th When the
so-called express agreement" with the
blowers was arrived at, il was understood
that the settlement of the strike then pen
ding throughout the Last, would be the
settlement OF the whole of District Assem-
bly, lao of the Knights of Labor, which
the officers Of the company well under
stood at the time, to be the meaning of
the men, instead OF the partial settlement
which was effected by the Baltimore Lo-
cal Assembly No. 8, when they seeded
from the Knights of Labor, and betrayed
their obligation, and TO show that the men
here are honorable to their engagements,
they went'to the manager and offered the
reduction of seven per cent without APP
prentices as the settlement of the strike,
as soon as the information was received
from their headquarters. This was the
settlement the men agreed to and not the
settlement of any one Local Assembly,
and the officers of the Glass Company
know this to be the case.
Now, Mr.. Editor, a word or two about
''the great profits to be made by the en-
ployment OF apprentices. The company
have secured the services of one that has
served part of his time, and which, if he
could be relied on to work steady, might
be able, in short time, TO make expenses
out of him; the other one is entirely green
with everything to learn, and who would,
with all things, in his favor, be q dead
loss TO the company for the balance of
this season $ work So much, Mr.. Editor,
for the thirty dollars per week to be
made on two apprentices. Now, for the
benefit to the company on the reduction
of seven per cent. instead of five. We will
take the company's statements, that a
blower can make five dollars per day; it
will take twelve blowers to ill the shops,
that will make sure gain to the company
of about seven and = half dollars per
week, and there is no one connected with
the Glass Works that can furnish proof
that this assertion is not correct. Now
in regard TO the statement that all the
shops in Baltimore, and almost all the
factories in the Eastern States are now
working under the apprentice system, we
will see what the facts are: There are
thirty five firms comprising the green glass
trade OF the East, and of that number
eighteen are working under the Knights
OF Labor, at seven per cent. reduction, and
nine firms are on strike for same, and
the remaining seven are the ones that
comprise "all the shops in Baltimore, and
almost all the Eastern States" spoken of so
confidently in your Saturdays issue, and
Of which number Poughkeepsie is run
ming two furnaces with eight journeymen
and seven apprentices, and one furnace
alone requires thirtytwo blowers for
full compliment; and for the other six
firms, they have got five crews among the
six, and the men at Baltimore are expect
ed to be all out again before this meets
the eye Of the public-thereby showing
there has been something of misrepre-
sentation in your paper of Saturday last.
/ will just say in conclusion that accord
ing to the laws that have been in force as
long as the Glass Blowers League has
been in operation, that no firm can be al
lowed to have any apprentice whatever
unless the company have the capacity to
employ twenty blowers, or ten blowers
and three-fi of ten. Hoping that the
case of the glass blowers may come before
the public in its true light, l remain your
humble servant, q
KNIGHT OF LABOR.